Empower Your Workforce

Posted by RAMJACKAugust 2nd, 2017

Empower your workforce for a safer, more productive mine.

Real improvements to productivity and safety in mining are impossible without an empowered workforce. Actively empowering a mine’s workforce requires a conscious decision by mine management based on the knowledge that an empowered workforce is not only more productive but, because they feel a sense of ownership over their work, they tend to also work smarter, more safely and show more initiative. This behaviour raises the level of commitment to company targets, increases the feedback from the field and improves mine efficiency overall.

Here are three ways the technology adopted by Ramjack Technology Solutions is empowering the mining workforce in Africa, Europe and the Middle East – ultimately making your mine a safer, more productive place:

1. Real-time feedback. Unless the needed information can be placed in the hands of the decision-maker at the moment in time when they need it, your hands are tied behind your back when it comes to safety and productivity improvements at your mine. Guaranteed, reliable data communications – in real-time – are the only way to make this happen.

Imagine the efficiency improvements you can achieve when an operator pre-shift inspection is communicated at the same moment the operator performs the inspection. With our FARA system by MISOM, equipment operators use the FARA tablet to snap photos, send voice notes and geotag their pre-shift inspections and send them off to the right decision-makers in real-time.

Consider the production improvement that comes by providing real-time payload information to your shovel operators as they load trucks. Our Argus shovel monitoring system by MineWare has this as its primary function – provide real-time, bucket-by-bucket payload information to the shovel operator. No more waiting for that second gear re-way on the truck payload system to find out after the fact that the truck was over (or under) loaded. Now, couple that payload information with real-time mine compliance maps available in the shovel cab, and your shovel operators can dig-to-plan accurately with the first pass.

Having real-time information has avoided underground mine management for years. Sure, most underground mines have solved the problem of decent communications ‘everywhere but the face.’ But, getting reliable, real-time information directly ‘from the face’ can only be achieved using our MineHop system, designed and manufactured by Newtrax. Connect MineHop to your leaky feeder or Ethernet and collect data from the mine face, while sitting comfortably at your desk on surface.

2. Safety responsibility.Every miner knows that the secret to survival is being aware of your surroundings, being alert to make the right decisions and being equipped with the right safety policies and procedures. By providing your workforce with the right tools, mines can allow and encourage miners to be responsible for their own safety, and the safety of the people and equipment around. At Ramjack, we support this vision with the following technology:

Proactive, predictive and non-intrusive fatigue management using the Life system by SmartCap, the only reliable fatigue monitoring system that can detect a drop in operator alertness levels before the onset of dangerous ‘microsleeps’. There’s no privacy-infringing camera required, as the Life system uses the gold standard of sleep science – EEG measurements – to warn your operators of the onset of fatigue before it reaches dangerous levels. That’s empowering.

Easy to install, configure and use proximity awareness information using peer-to-peer communications technology purpose built for the application. For underground mines, MineProx by Newtrax ensures miners are made aware of any potential collisions with pedestrians, other vehicles or stationary hazards. On surface, the FARA light fleet management system makes use of off-the-shelf BLE technology to ensure the complete proximity picture.

Reliable information about the environment surrounding your miners. Knowing your employer is committed to keeping you safe is a strong message of empowerment. With a complete range of all gas detection sensors and environmental monitoring devices from Conspec Controls and a wide array of geotechnical instruments from MDT, your workforce is empowered with information about their surroundings, which is critical for making decisions about their own safety.

3. Automated data collection.Automatically gathering data from the sensors around your mine and channeling it into the existing mine network for real-time reporting and extensive big-data analysis allows engineers and other knowledge workers to spend their time analyzing and making decisions based on real data, rather than having to collect it via manual, time-intensive means. Ramjack offers three different automated data collection systems, depending on the application:

For surface operations, we use the Loadsensing telemetry system, purpose-built with long range communications and long-lasting batteries;

For underground, hard rock mines, we use MineHop – it connects to your leaky feeder or Ethernet and doesn’t require batteries for power or for communications;

For underground, fiery / coal mines, we use the Conspec Controls wireless system – fully, intrinsically safe, it connects and communicates your sensor data without the risk of a spark.

Contact Ramjack to learn more about how you can empower your workforce to make the right decisions at the right time using a purpose-built, integrated technology solution.

About RAMJACK

Having partnered with the most advanced real-time mining technology producers in the industry, RAMJACK is uniquely positioned to solve the most critical mining challenges – both on surface and underground. We specialize in system integration of real-time monitoring tech, backed by industry-leading production and safety applications. By utilizing the strength of each technology, RAMJACK is able to design, integrate, deploy and support the real-time monitoring requirements of any mining operation.